


Judgement and Trust

by AuntieEm30



Category: Turn (TV 2014)
Genre: Add-on to canon scene, Caleb bitching out GWash, Gen, One-Shot, Trying to convey spoken accent trough text, discussion of moral injury on wartime
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-15
Updated: 2020-04-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:49:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23658634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AuntieEm30/pseuds/AuntieEm30
Summary: Caleb reacts to Washington's pointed silence during the intel briefing in 4x1 (after the reveal of Arnold's letter to invite Ben to defect)
Relationships: Caleb Brewster & Benjamin Tallmadge, Caleb Brewster & George Washington
Comments: 6
Kudos: 11





	Judgement and Trust

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place directly at the end of the scene in 4x1 (Spyhunter General) where Ben and Caleb ask to do the raid on Stauket to burn the British's hay stock. It might not make sense if you haven't watched that far.

After Ben left Washington’s headquarters with clearance for the Setauket raid, holding his head high and pushing through his frustration, Caleb stayed behind, blood beginning to simmer after seeing the pointed look between him and the General.

“Sir-“

“You are dismissed, Lieutenant.” But the fuse in him, much shorter than the Turtle’s, had already been lit.

“Then I’ll risk the insubordination charge, Sir, ‘cause I got somethin’ to say.”

Washington stared at him stonily.

“Ain’t no man in this camp more loyal ta you than the Major. Even after ya left ‘him ta rot over the Lee matter, even after your judgment got Sackett killed,” Caleb hissed. “An’ I’m compelled ta remind ya Ben’s a minister’s son, an’ his faith’s important to him, an’ he _volunteered_ to kill a minister, on the road, in plainclothes, without a trial because he knew how important it was for protecting the cause, the ring, and this army, which includes you. Because I hope ya realize by now it ain’t no Providence protecting ya, it’s us, and the Culpers, and our Signal and 355. An’ if he had ta he’d do it again in a heartbeat, no matter how heavy it weighs on him. Ya give the dirty orders for the good of the cause, and ya make the balance judgments, and that’s your burden, but the blood’s on _our_ hands.”

He paused, breathing heavy with anger and frustration.

“Now, I know Arnold’s a rat bastard for what he did, we all know. We all wanna see him pay. We all wanna see that he can’t give the enemy any more information that can hurt us. But he ain’t the keystone a’ this war, an’ maybe try ta remember that we all ain’t like him, an’ we still aim ta see this through to the end, even when our commander tries ta punish us for his sins.”

Washington was silent for a long moment, still staring a Caleb.

“I said, you are _dismissed_ ,” he finally forced out through clenched teeth, his face a mask of rock.

Caleb had no way of knowing if he’d heard or considered a damn word he said, or if he was just showing restraint out of not wanting to be short a valued asset, either to resignation or to hanging. He supposed, in the end, it didn’t matter.

He gave a short, insincere huff of a laugh, and a salute very clearly meant to be ironic, before doing an about-face and striding out of the building to catch up with Ben.

Who cared what Washington thought, personally? He and Ben would keep doing what they always did, and with any luck they’d survive to victory and the faintest glimmer of a life after. 

Washington might even still have a handful of people willing to work with him by then for whatever he wanted to accomplish after the war. Caleb just wasn’t sure he’d be one of them.

**Author's Note:**

> Caleb's focus on Ben killing Reverend Worthington in season 3 here is due to the assumption on my part that Ben never told Caleb about what happened with Sarah and why he went apeshit on Douchbag What's-his-face (the one who sexually assaulted and shot Sarah, and eventually led the ill-fated soldier strike later in season 4). Because of this, Caleb assumes that killing the spy minister was the reason for Ben's weirdness when he came back, which, if I had my way, WOULD be the reason for his weirdness, because the whole Sarah subplot was not handled well (but that's not her fault, and that's a spiel for another time).
> 
> For the record, this isn't meant to be cut-and-dry GWash bashing. He's problematic, but still a fave (damn you and your incredible voice, Ian Kahn!). Dude was in an incredibly difficult position, but a lot of his decision-making process as depicted in Turn (that we see) seems like one of his flaws in the show. Besides the stuff with Lee, which I have thoughts on, he took Arnold's betrayal really personally, and it affected his judgment, both in his treatment of Ben and his obsession with taking York City. I'm interested in y'all's thoughts in the comments!


End file.
